86 TEAUSACTIOXS. 



•well-trained yoke of oxen ; but, when more than one team is required, 

 a driver is necessary. Boys are sometimes employed ; restless, peev- 

 ish and ill-tempered and entirely unfit for the business, not having 

 half the discretion of the oxen themselves. 



They can shout haw ! and gee up ! and flourish the whip and use 

 the goad to perfection. The well trained and sensible animals, not 

 used to such company, fret and miss the furrow, as the lash is inaptly 

 and untimely applied ; and, as a consequence, the land is badly 

 plowed and the animals injured. The lash and the goad to the backs 

 of such boys, say we, and a good discretionary driver for the oxen. 



Finally: it requires an experienced and skillful plowman, in ord^r 

 that tke work be well and properly done. It actually does require 

 tact and experience, to guide the plow handsomely, and to turn a 

 furrow cleverly. Other things being equal, a.fi'esh and a gf7'ee7i hand, 

 and an old, well trained plowman, will produce very different results. 



Width of furrow, depth, completeness in turning the sod, proportion- 

 ate width and evenness of all the furrows ; all these receive the atten- 

 tion of the experienced plowman, and when his labors are finished, he 

 beholds his field with honest pride, — -a beautiful triumph of the plow, 

 and the laborer's skill. 



The above requirements are positively necessary and essential to a 

 well plowed field. There are other collateral circumstances, and 

 things of minor consequence, that ought to receive attention. The 

 plow should be kept in good order, and free from soil, rust, and cor- 

 rosion. A rough, unsmooth plow turns a furrow badly and requires 

 more power to operate it. Plows should be kept housed, well clean- 

 ed and polished, and then they will be fit for use. 



They should always be supplied with a proper point. Some farmers 

 tise a ploAT, until the point is worn out and as blunted as a miser's 

 conscience, and it is impossible for them to do work, even moderately 

 well. This is poor economy, and smacks of bad calculation and want 

 of judgment. 



Fifty cents for a new point, as often as the old one ceases to do 

 ■well, is money well applied. But we must not generalize too far. 

 Our apology is our love of Agricultural themes. The land — the 

 grand old mountains, the green sunny hill-sides, and the luxuriant 

 meadows and the quiet old homesteads, give me. The city with her 

 piles of granite, and her wealth ! Old ocean with her navies and richly 

 laden ships ! Others may enjoy tliem if they will, but give me the 



